Become another God: Oneness, love and the philosophy of Sri Chinmoy

Abstract

In Sri Chinmoy's philosophy man is God. However, man also has to 'become God'. This oneness is not apparent to us in our everyday experience. We identify exclusively with our individual human self rather than God. Only a radical transformation of consciousness, which Sri Chinmoy calls God-realisation, can bring about conscious oneness with God. In many different religious and spiritual traditions, particularly mysticism, human beings have the potential to become one with God (or even become God). Becoming one with God can be interpreted in ways that either preserve or annul individual identity. If oneness involves complete loss of individuality, this could make relationships impossible and eliminate the potential for love. At first glance, loving God and being God may appear to be mutually incompatible situations. After briefly surveying various conceptions of oneness with God, I will discuss how Sri Chinmoy's philosophy provides a novel contribution to addressing this dilemma. In Sri Chinmoy's philosophy God is an all-pervading Self whose essence is love. Sri Chinmoy's description of God is similar to the Brahman described in the Upanishads as Sat-chit-ananda or 'Existence-Consciousness-Bliss'. For Sri Chinmoy, God is both one and many. In his conception of God-realisation we identify with both the one and the many when we realise God. Sri Chinmoy contrasts two types of consciousness: the heart and the mind, or the psychic and mental consciousness. The heart has potentially unlimited capacity for identification. Mental consciousness is mostly egotistic, creating a sense of division. When the heart rules us instead of the mind, we can expand our consciousness towards complete identification with God. In Sri Chinmoy's philosophy of oneness-in-multiplicity love is not only compatible with becoming God, it is essential.